Emirate of Sicily

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The Emirate of Sicily was a Muslim state from 948 to 1072. Authority in Sicily had been vested in emirs installed from what is present day Tunisia since 827, the island then gained the status of emirate in 948 with the kalbid dynasty. Byzantine Sicily was frequently the target of raids by Syrians, Egyptians, and Moors from North Africa. As early as 652, Saracens from Kairouan made incursions into the island. In around 700, the island of Pantelleria was captured by Moors, and it was only discord among the Arabs that prevented Sicily being next. Instead, trading arrangements were agreed and Arab merchants established themselves in Sicilian ports. Then, in 827, came the fully fledged Arab invasion.

It was sparked by a failed Sicilian coup against an unpopular Byzantine governor. Euphemius, a wealthy landowner, overcame the imperial garrison in Siracusa, declared himself Emperor and invited the Aghlabid Emir of Tunisia to help him. The response was a fleet of 100 ships and 10,000 troops under the command of Asad ibn al-Furat, which consisted largely of Arab, Berber and Spanish Muslims. After resistance at Siracusa, the Muslims gained a foothold in Mazara del Vallo. Palermo fell after a long siege in 831, but Siracusa held out until 878. From 842 to 859 the Arabs captured Messina, Modica, Ragusa and Enna. In 902 Taormina, the last Byzantine stronghold also fell to the Arabs and by 965 all of Sicily was under Arab control and Palermo became one of the largest cities in the world.

As a virtually an independent emirate, Sicily played a privileged role as bridge between Africa and Europe. Trade flourished and taxes were low. The tolerant regime allowed subjects to abide by their own laws. Despite freedom of worship, Christians freely converted to Islam and there were soon hundreds of mosques in Palermo alone.

The Arabs initiated land reforms which in turn, increased productivity and encouraged the growth of smallholdings, a dent to the dominance of the landed estates. The Arabs further borrowed Roman engineering and Persian irrigation systems. A description of Palermo was given by Ibn Hawqual, a Baghdad merchant who visited Sicily in 950. A walled suburb called the Kasr (the citadel) is the center of Palermo until today, with the great Friday mosque on the site of the later Roman cathedral. The suburb of Al-Khalisa (Kalsa) contained the Sultan's palace, baths, a mosque, government offices and a private prison. Ibn Hawqual reckoned 7,000 individual butchers trading in 150 shops.

In addition to Spanish Moors and Arabs, there were Berbers, black Africans, Persians, Greeks, Jews, Slavs and Lombards. Western Sicily particularly prospered with Berbers settling in the Agrigento area coupled with Syrians and Egyptians in Palermo. In succession Sicily was ruled by the Sunni Aghlabid dynasty in Tunisia and the Shiite Fatimids in Egypt. The Byzantines took advantage of temporary discord to occupy the eastern end of the island for several years. After suppressing a revolt the Fatimid caliph appointed Hassan al-Kalbi (948-964) as Emir of Sicily. He successfully managed to control the Byzantines and founded the Kalbid dynasty. Raids into southern Italy continued under the Kalbids into the 11th century, and in 982 a German army under Otto II was defeated near Crotone in Calabria. With Emir Yusuf al-Kalbi (990-998) a period of steady decline began. Under al-Akhal (1017-1037) the dynastic conflict intensified, with factions within the ruling family allying themselves variously with Byzantium and the Zirids. By the time of Emir Hasan as-Samsam (1040-1053) the island had fragmented into several small fiefdoms.

Muslim rule in Sicily slowly came to an end following an invitation by the Emirs of Catania and Siracusa for a Norman invasion. The Normans, under Count Roger de Hauteville (Altavilla) attacked Sicily in 1061, beginning a thirty year struggle against the Saracens. In 1068, Roger and his men defeated the Arabs at Misilmeri but the most crucial battle was the siege of Palermo in 1072. Following the Norman conquest, Arab influence continued to persist creating a hybrid culture on the island that has contributed much to the character of modern Sicily.

[edit] See also

• Kalbids

[edit] References

M. Amari: Storia dei Musulmani di Sicilia (Italian), Le Monnier, 2002. Aymn Almsaodi, The historic Atlas of Iberia